1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hinge for an electronic apparatus such as a portable electronic apparatus and to an electronic apparatus equipped with a hinge.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, a lot of portable electronic apparatuses are on sale, and sophisticated electronic apparatuses on which a CPU (central processing unit) is mounted have appeared. A large amount of power is consumed to drive such electronic apparatuses, and it is necessary to dissipate the heat due to the power consumption to the exterior by various methods.
Of portable electronic apparatuses, a portable computer, for example, is equipped with a main body and a display portion thereof. This display portion can be opened and closed with respect to the main body through the intermediation of a hinge. A typical portable computer of this type is a computer called a notebook personal computer.
Conventionally, in such a mechanical hinge, a stationary member and a movable member of the hinge are mechanically joined together such that the movable member can rotate with respect to the stationary member by a fixed torque. A material satisfying the requisite mechanical strength is adopted for the stationary member, the movable member, etc. However, heat conduction for heat dissipation is not taken into consideration.
In conventional portable electronic apparatuses, a large heat sink is separately provided for natural heat dissipation, or air cooling is forcibly effected by using a fan or the like.
In the case of natural heat dissipation, there is a limitation to the space where the heat sink is provided, so that the quantity of heat that can be dissipated is restricted. In the case of the forced air cooling using a fan or the like, noise is generated by the fan, or power is needed for the driving of the fan.